Sailing & Cruising in Cuba

A Great Setting for enjoying Water Sports

One of the Caribbean’s most enchanting sailing & cruising areas, Cuba has it all—natural marvels, gorgeous weather and historical charm. The first known sailor to drop anchor off this green-and-blue isle was Christopher Columbus, who in 1492 declared it “the most beautiful land human eyes have seen”. Ernest Hemingway spent three decades tooting around the Cuban keys in his fishing boat, the Pilar, then immortalized them in his novels, The Old Man and the Sea and Islands in the Stream.

And Fidel Castro sailed the Cuban seas in his cabin cruiser, the Granma. An archipelago in the Greater Antilles, Cuba lies at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, some 180 kilometres south of Florida, 140 kilometres west of the Bahamas, and 210 kilometres east of Cancun. While it is directly in the path of the Gulf Stream, the current is not strong—averaging less than half a knot, and sometimes reaching a maximum of three knots.

cruising

Ports of entry

Cuba is one of the most beautiful places to see, welcomes sailors from around the world. Some arrive on their own boats; some on chartered vessels; others on cruise ships. Cruise-ship facilities abound in Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Although vessels also dock at the Isle of Youth, Nuevitas Bay and the northern coast of Holguín province. Ports of entry provide customs clearing as well as dockage, electricity, provisions, water, fuel and minor repairs.